DeBolt and District Pioneer Museum
The DeBolt and District Pioneer Museum Society
became Incorporated in September, 1975. At that time, the aims of the
society included the building and maintaining of a museum and the
publishing of a local history book. The initial museum building was an
old log manse that was located in Hubert Memorial Park in the Hamlet
of DeBolt. It was opened in October, 1976. The first local history
book, Across the Smoky, was published in 1978, with a sequel
edition, Bridges to the Past, printed in 2001.
The DeBolt museum began when two things came
together: the first was that Winnie Moore (nee DeBolt) had a dream of
our area having a museum, and secondly the opportune time came when a
committee was formed to honor Tom Hubert for his community
contributions.
Mr. Hubert had left his estate to the community,
through three organizations: the DeBolt Country Club, the DeBolt
United Church, and the East Smoky Royal Canadian Legion #89. These
three organizations each chose two persons to sit on a committee to
honour Mr. Hubert and to do something with our municipal park. This is
how, in 1969, the "Hubert Memorial Park Committee" was formed.
There was a small log building (the DeBolt United
Church manse) in the park and a baseball back-stop, some open area and
some bushed area, and that was all. The committee decided that the
little manse building should become the start of a museum. They went
to the community for ideas on what else should be done.
The original committee representatives were: East
Smoky Legion #89 - John Nielsen and Donald Matlock, DeBolt United
Church - Winnie Moore and Sigfred Welander, DeBolt Country Club -
Jean Pushor and Art Boe.
From this group Winnie Moore became the Chairman
and Jean Pushor the Secretary. Gradually work began in the park
and the manse. Out of the committee, the museum became a formal
society in 1975. Historic items were requested from the community and
our museum began its early growth and expansion. [continue]
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